Manitoba PCs to pick new leader, province’s first female premier Saturday – Winnipeg
Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives are anticipated to resolve amongst two candidates bidding to guide the occasion — and turn out to be the province’s first feminine premier — Saturday.
That’s regardless of a name from one of many two candidates to delay the vote over worries not everybody eligible to vote acquired their ballots on time.
Tuxedo MLA Heather Stefanson, a former provincial well being minister, and former St. Boniface MP and retired Winnipeg police officer Shelly Glover are every vying for the occasion management,
The occasion is anticipated to disclose the winner of the weeks-long marketing campaign at 5 p.m. Saturday.
However Glover has referred to as for the vote rely to be delayed, saying she believes hundreds of occasion members could also be unable to vote as a result of they haven’t acquired ballots which are alleged to be crammed out and submitted by Friday afternoon, both via the mail or by dropping them off in particular person at designated places.
On Wednesday occasion officers mentioned about 25,000 ballots had been mailed out, however some – they’d not say what number of – didn’t get to their vacation spot.
The occasion says it has been engaged on options, similar to organising places across the province the place folks can decide up ballots and fill them out.
If the vote reveal goes forward as deliberate, Christopher Adams, a political sciences professor on the College of Manitoba, says both candidate may take the prize.
“Folks assume Stefanson is main within the race, however I believe they’re each credible candidates,” he advised World Information this week, noting as a result of the occasion is utilizing a one-member-one-vote system, selecting a winner forward of time is tough.
“It’s not just like the old style delegate conventions, so we actually don’t know the place these 24,000 (or so) members are dedicating their vote.”
Adams mentioned each candidates will deliver their very own distinctive type to the job, ought to they win, and every may even face distinctive challenges.
“Heather Stefanson will probably be working together with her colleagues, who’re MLAs, and he or she’s one of many group, (whereas) Shelly Glover is coming from the surface,” he mentioned.
“If (Glover) is chosen because the chief, her challenges will probably be considerably completely different. She’ll should unite the caucus behind her, and that’ll be a significant problem, and he or she’ll should unite the enterprise group behind her as a result of a lot of the enterprise group has been endorsing Heather Stefanson.”
“Every of the 2 have completely different challenges based mostly on the place their sources of energy are within the occasion and their alliances with completely different folks within the occasion.”
The management race was referred to as after former premier Brian Pallister introduced he can be stepping down as chief again in August amid plummeting ballot numbers.
Adams says regardless who wins the management contest, the profitable candidate is more likely to distance themselves from Pallister of their new function as chief.
“It’s harder for Heather Stefanson in that. Shelly Glover was a federal Member of Parliament — she didn’t sit in Brian Pallister’s caucus,” he mentioned.
“(However) I do assume that the polls point out that they should kind of rebuild their help.”
In an interview with World Information within the lead-up to Saturday’s announcement, Stefanson mentioned she’ll take heed to Manitobans and take a collaborative method if she’s elected chief, actions not all the time attributed to Pallister throughout his time as premier.
She mentioned her high priorities as premier will probably be to scale back surgical and diagnostic backlogs within the province’s health-care system and assist get companies hit laborious by the pandemic again up and operating.
Glover, in the meantime, mentioned she would really like assist deliver a greater decorum to Manitoba’s authorities if elected, and vowed to assist spearhead a non-partisan, all-party Indigenous caucus below her management.
Glover mentioned she can be a “workforce participant” who would work to ensure voters have entry to their elected officers.
–With information from The Canadian Press and Brittany Greenslade
© 2021 World Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
